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Coffee County pilots targeted after‑school tutoring at New Union and North Coffee to boost early reading
Summary
Coffee County Schools launched a small, invitation‑only tutoring pilot at New Union and North Coffee in early September focused on phonics and word‑reading gaps. The district will track results, consider expansion, and discussed possible multi‑year county funding during a board work session.
Instructional supervisor Miss Sizemore told the Coffee County Schools board the district has launched a pilot after‑school tutoring program at New Union and North Coffee elementary schools, beginning Sept. 8 with 15 invited students — 10 at New Union and five at North Coffee.
The program is focused on foundational reading skills. "We have started the piloting tutoring program at North Coffee and New Union. We currently have 15 students," Miss Sizemore said, adding that tutors are using district‑adopted materials so instruction aligns with classroom teaching.
Board members and school staff said the groups are small by design and selected from TCAP scores. Miss Sizemore said teachers and academic coaches used last year’s TCAP results and classroom evidence to invite students who scored in the "below" or "approaching" categories. Students attend from 3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m.; tutoring itself has no fee, and families who need standard after‑school care may pay that program’s fee to keep their child later.
Michelle Howell, identified in the meeting as the district literacy coach at New Union, described the program’s instructional focus and goal. "Our goal is for these students to become proficient on TCAP," Howell told the board. Staff are using Wonders (the district reading curriculum), Fundations (the phonics program) and supplemental phonemic‑awareness materials labeled UFLY to address identified gaps.
Tutors and classroom teachers are coordinating daily lessons, the presenters said, to avoid mixed messages for students. Miss Sizemore said New Union’s tutoring emphasizes third grade while North Coffee is focusing on fourth grade. Sarah Duke is serving as a teacher’s aide at New Union alongside Howell; Miss Talley is the academic coach leading work at North Coffee. Janice, a math coach who also supports the program, participates in weekly coordination with literacy staff.
Board discussion centered on expansion, sustainability and how the program fits with existing after‑school services. Hickerson Elementary has expressed interest in joining the pilot; staff said an expansion would require alignment, scheduling and funding. A board member suggested a possible fund‑balance commitment of $500,000 a year for five years to support after‑school initiatives, but that was offered as a funding idea during discussion and not adopted as a formal board decision.
Staff said the district is tracking student progress with a data‑tracker and will monitor results over the school year. Sizemore and others emphasized the pilot’s intent: move students from "approaching" to proficient by giving focused, small‑group instruction and close coordination with classroom teachers. Presenters noted prior small‑scale work where three of five tutored students later scored proficient on TCAP, and they described the current effort as a year‑long monitoring project as the district seeks grants and other funding to sustain or scale the work.
Board members and staff also discussed related — but separate — ideas raised during the session: creating a parent‑training component so caregivers can support reading at home, establishing a predictable tutoring calendar for families, and eventually making the targeted tutoring model part of a tiered after‑school system that includes childcare, enrichment and intensive academic supports.
No formal vote or binding financial commitment was taken during the work session. Staff said they will continue collecting data and return to the board with updates and recommendations about expansion and funding options.
The board session included other instructional items — kindergarten readiness goals (the district goal that all kindergartners know letters and sounds before advancing), use of Instructional Practice Guides for walk‑throughs, and peer‑to‑peer teacher observations — which staff said support the tutoring pilot’s alignment with classroom instruction.
Ending: District staff asked the board to treat the tutoring pilot as an early intervention that will be evaluated over the academic year. Board members encouraged staff to continue data collection, pursue grants to supplement county funding, and report back with measurable outcomes before any decision on scaling the program.
